In the process of packing one or more objects in a container for shipment, a void-fill dunnage product typically is placed in the shipping container along with the objects, partially or completely filling the empty space around the objects in the container to prevent or minimize shifting during the shipping process. Some commonly used void-fill dunnage materials include plastic foam peanuts, plastic bubble wrap, airbags, and converted paper dunnage. Some of these dunnage products take up a lot of space unless converted from a more compact stock material as needed.
Typically, a packer looks into a container in which one or more objects have been placed for shipment and determines the amount of dunnage material needed to fill the remaining void in the container. The packer then controls a dunnage dispenser to dispense the desired amount of dunnage. For strip-like dunnage products, an experienced packer can quickly determine how many and what lengths of dunnage strips are needed to fill the void in the container.
An inexperienced packer, however, has much more difficulty determining what lengths and what number of strips of dunnage are needed to fill the void volume. Consequently an inexperienced packer sometimes slows the packing process and is less efficient than an experienced packer. To avoid this problem, automated systems have been developed to measure the void volume in a container and then automatically determine the required dunnage strips for the packer. In some cases these systems remove the need for a packer altogether. The initial cost of a fully automated system generally is greater than that for a packer-operated system.